A Guardianship is a legal process that is used when one can no longer make safe or sound decisions about his or her person or property. Keep in mind that even though you feel someone is incapacitated and not able to make their own decisions, this doesn’t make it so. The only way a person can be declared legally incapacitated is through the legal process of a Guardianship.

This process is always the last resort. It is the last resort because it can be a costly and a time consuming process depending on the level of incapacity, the nature of the assets and the degree of protection needed. Guardianship is a court supervised procedure. The court must approve any and all expenditures and actions taken on behalf of the incapacitated individual.